?? Broody Duck and Baby chick

[sandy sea]

I have a duck that has been sitting on a nest of eggs for 22 days. She laid around 10 eggs, but a chicken had laid a few eggs there also. Yesterday one of the chicken eggs hatched. Cute little yellow chick. The duck is still sitting on eggs and the chick runs under her also. The problem is that I do not know if the duck eggs are fertile, I bought a drake around the same time she started to sit. I know that duck eggs will take about a week longer to hatch if they are fertile. What to do? Wait a few more days to see if another chick hatches, or remove the chick and buy a few more chicks so the chick will have company. If the duck eggs are not fertile, can I remove them and buy some day old duckling and try to trick the duck into thinking they hatched from her eggs?

 

[ibarbidahl]

wow... That's a can of worms.
Ok so problem #1 you have a chick and no momma. If the duck is not bothering her and tolerating it you could probably get away with leaving the chick with her. You will need to make sure the chick has access to a water source that cannot drown it, and access to crumbles/mash a few times a day.
Problem #2 - you have a hen sitting on eggs that may or may not be fertile. You say you got a drake at the same time she started sitting....did you have the drake PRIOR to her sitting? Eggs laid before the 2nd or 3rd day the drake was there will not be fertile. Ducks don't normally continue to lay once they are sitting. The only thing you can do at this point is either wait it out or get in there and candle the eggs.
Problem #3 to get more chicks or not - obviously this is entirely up to you. Can you handle both more chicks and ducklings if they hatch? Are you prepared to take care of all of them if she doesn't accept the store bought babies?
Problem #4 which you didn't mention. If she starts tending to that chick and abandons those eggs there will be no way to hatch them unless you incubate them.

So- I personally would candle the eggs - if they are viable I'd pull the chick and put it in a brooder with a stuffed animal, or if you are so inclined a store bought chick or two. Chickens grow much slower than ducks anyway - you may be able to integrate the chick with the ducklings once they are born.

Good luck!

 

[sandy sea]

wow... That's a can of worms.
Ok so problem #1 you have a chick and no momma. If the duck is not bothering her and tolerating it you could probably get away with leaving the chick with her. You will need to make sure the chick has access to a water source that cannot drown it, and access to crumbles/mash a few times a day.
Problem #2 - you have a hen sitting on eggs that may or may not be fertile. You say you got a drake at the same time she started sitting....did you have the drake PRIOR to her sitting? Eggs laid before the 2nd or 3rd day the drake was there will not be fertile. Ducks don't normally continue to lay once they are sitting. The only thing you can do at this point is either wait it out or get in there and candle the eggs.
Problem #3 to get more chicks or not - obviously this is entirely up to you. Can you handle both more chicks and ducklings if they hatch? Are you prepared to take care of all of them if she doesn't accept the store bought babies?
Problem #4 which you didn't mention. If she starts tending to that chick and abandons those eggs there will be no way to hatch them unless you incubate them.

So- I personally would candle the eggs - if they are viable I'd pull the chick and put it in a brooder with a stuffed animal, or if you are so inclined a store bought chick or two. Chickens grow much slower than ducks anyway - you may be able to integrate the chick with the ducklings once they are born.

Good luck!

 

[sandy sea]

Thanks you so much for your reply. So far only that one chick hatched. I am going to try to candle the duck eggs. I said try. I have never done it. I feel sorry for the one chick being a only chick. The duck is still sitting tight on the nest and the chick just runs under her. It is cute in a weird way.

 

[sandy sea]

Just a quick up date. On July 24 and 25 I had one duck hatch each day. One week later I had another duck hatch. It all worked out OK. The duck that hatched a week after the others is smaller but keeps up. It is a weird family, chick stays with it duck friends, but stays clear from the pools.

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

Pictures???